Divine Favour: The dignified alternative to Begging, Bootlicking, Seduction and Lobbying
👏Hello! I’m Azubuike, and welcome to Biblion. This July, I’ll share the lessons I’ve learnt about Divine Favour as a dignified alternative to most counterfeit persuasion devices practised in today’s world.
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Divine Favour: The dignified alternative to Begging, Bootlicking, Seduction and Lobbying ←This post
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Imagine the following scenarios: Having goods and services that don’t sell; possessing valuable skills in your industry that nobody wants or is unwilling to pay for; being ready for marriage and not desirable to or suitable for anyone; doing everything in one’s power and yet remain obscure, unrecognised, unnoticed, and unrewarded.
These scenarios are tales of woes of the UNFAVOURED life.
Favour is being recognised, accepted and rewarded by another. The idea stems from the fact that someone in any position (higher, lower, within or outside our circle of influence) rewards us or responds positively to our entreaties to do something for us that what we cannot get done, or to give us what we cannot have, without them.
What I have learnt about Favour
In my studies of the Scriptures and variety of experiences in and out of leadership opportunities, I have learned the following:
1. Favour is a Spiritual Currency with tangible social-economic value. Favour is required to transact in this life profitably. Favour is to have an advantage at life’s negotiation table that determines our shares, stake and eventual take home. Without Favour, one would be on a perpetual losing streak.
2. Life will be colourless, dull and boring without Favour. The root meaning of Favour also means Beauty. Merriam-Webster defines Beauty as the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. It also means a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight, per the Oxford dictionary.
An unfavoured person is unattractive, unseen, unrecognised and largely ignored and possibly ends in obscurity.
3. Everybody needs and seeks Favour. Favour plays a vital role in this life, so much so that Jesus needed it to fulfil his earthly mission — for Jesus had to grow in Favour with God and man. The rich need it, and the poor also need it. God reckons with it, Men reckons with it, and the Devil reckons with it.
Individuals need it to advance their personal lives. Regardless of the industry, businesses and careers cannot thrive or grow without it. We can see why businesses invest heavily in branding and individuals rely so much on social media to “get the word out”.
4. Favour is the oxygen of impact and influence. You are received and accepted by those you are sent to because of the Favour you carry. Without Favour, one might impress a few, but the real impact is a function of Favour. We need Favour to do great things on this earth — to influence culture, determine policies and ultimately establish the Kingdom of God.
Paul, a great man of influence who impacted this world in no small way, confessed, “I am what I am by the favour bestowed me by God.” An unfavoured man will suffer rejections after rejections; he will be stoned by those he is called to serve.
5. God designed the Cosmos to respond to Favour. When God shows mercy, that mercy automatically qualifies one for His Favour. The Cosmos recognises God’s mercy upon an individual by the display of Favour on that individual.
The socio-economic environment will respond to the bouquet of Favour around an individual. Favour defines how we are perceived and received by the environment. Favour is what highlights an individual and marks them out for rewards. Mike Murdock once said, “He who sees you is who we can reward you“.
6. Favour is an Asset. Like goodwill recognised in accounting practice, Favour is the established reputation of an individual or organisation, which can be calculated as a quantifiable asset. Being an asset, Favour has the capacity to grow and appreciate in value and essence.
7. Favour eliminates the competition. The Israelites got the land not because they were strong but because they were favoured. Esther became queen instead of Vashti because she was favoured. David emerged the next King of Israel amidst his brethren because of Favour.
8. Favour determines the strength of the bond of marital relationships. It determines how valuable the married man or woman is in the other’s eyes. A good wife is a sign that a man has obtained Favour from God; a good husband also proves that God highly favours the woman.
9. Favour makes you a toast to Kings and Peasants alike. Everyone wants to associate with the favoured. Favour attracted David to Saul, and Saul had to request the services of David personally. After David killed Goliath (one man), the women sang, “Saul had killed his thousands, and David killed his tens of thousands”. Their song was a testimony to an attribute on David’s CV — favoured.
Saul appointed him as a commander of his army, and everyone accepted him, including all of Saul’s servants. It was a consensus, “this is the best decision our King has made “, they said happily. Later, we find that the entirety of Israel and Judah also fell in love with David (what a favoured man!).
10. Favour makes you a Leader that people willingly submit to and learn from. One day, 400 men in the lowest possible place in their lives — stressed, indebted, bitter — came to submit themselves to David for him to become their leader. They were society’s rejects, “area boys”, as we call them in Nigeria. David led these men, and they were transformed into David’s mighty men! Complaining about your subordinates is a waste of time; with Favour, you command followership cheaply.
11. Favour qualifies you to birth the next big thing that can change the course of human history. Mary was highly favoured, and she became the womb through which Jesus was birthed. Regardless of ideological standpoints or popular opinion, this world, its current and future civilisations, cannot deny the impact of Jesus Christ on human history. His life was so impactful that the global calendaring system — BC and AD — was created to demarcate history before his birth and the year of his resurrection. The world is forever changed because of Jesus!
12. Favour attracts the opportunities, relationships and resources to fulfil your destiny in God. Favour is required to fertilise and actualise opportunities for greatness. It provides the enabling, supportive and conducive environment for success.
The Israelites were to leave Egypt after 430 years, a large part of which they were enslaved. God gave them Favour, and every request they made of the Egyptians was granted, no questions asked — they stripped Egypt of its wealth!
Nehemiah needed permission, resources and protection to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He prayed for Favour before his boss, the King, and was granted all he requested (remember this when you make the next request to your boss).
13. Favour is both an attraction and a defence. For thou will bless the righteous, and with Favour, you surround him as a shield. Favour attracts people with the best intentions and blessing and screens out people with hurtful and depreciating influence — what is responsible for attraction also filters off malicious intents. This shield dimension protects you from those who intend to hurt, harm or abuse you because of your “favouredness”.
Most animals are covered in fur, feathers, scales or shells, while some animals, like the Porcupine, have thorny spikes as their outermost covering — used as a self-defence mechanism from predators. This shield of Favour is described as a thorny or prickly shield that pierces like in the cold to ward off attacks.
Favour removed Joseph from harm’s way (that Potiphar’s wife was Dan-ga-rous!) and put him in an environment that led to fulfilling his destiny. The Favour upon David withheld him from causeless blood (through Abigail’s intervention), which would have jeopardised his chances of mounting the throne.
14. Not recognising Favour can be costly. Nabal lost his life and eventually his wife because he denigrated the Favour shown to him by David. Be careful with favoured persons, do them harm or hurt at your peril.
15. Favour is rear and valuable, hence many counterfeits. Men with corrupt minds created counterfeit access to Favour — begging, bootlicking, seduction and lobbying.
Begging (also panhandling): is the practice of imploring others to grant a favour, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. Beggars are often stigmatised as undeserving and unworthy.
Bootlicking: to try to gain Favour through a servile or subservient manner— by being excessively eager and attentive to please or to obey instructions in a subservient way (this happens daily in many corporate settings).
Seduction: obtain Favour by enticing someone to do or believe something inadvisable or foolhardy or to lead a target astray by false pretence. So prevalent that a whole book was written on it titled, The Art of Seduction; wow!
Lobbying: trying to persuade someone in authority, to support laws or rules that give your organisation or industry an advantage. The news is filled with the adverse socio-economic effects of the greedy lobbyist agenda, from healthcare to the environment.
As Christians and people of Faith in Jesus, we have access to a rich store of Favour.
I am blessed and highly favoured!
Favour is what is required to do great things in this earth. I am blessed and highly favoured!!!